Current Notes

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

Volume 37 | Issue 1

Article 6

1946

Current Notes

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V. A. Leonard, Editor

NPA

Yearbook-Announcements have been received concerning

the release of the 1945 Yearbook of the National Probation

Associa-tion. It has been given the title Social Correctives for Delinquency,

using the word delinquency in both the adult and juvenile senses.

A glimpse of the table of contents shows the range and the

perti-nence of the contributed material. The first section, The War and

the Offender, contains two articles covering respectively the army

and the navy rehabilitation programs, the first by Austin H.

Mac-Cormick and Victor H. Evjen, the second by Richard A. Chappell

and F. Emerson Logee. Two psychiatrists discuss the veteran who

has been mentally or emotionally affected by the war: Dr. Harold

S. Hulbert and Dr. Harry L. Freedman. Myron J. Rockmore is a

co-author with Dr. Freedman.

Tracing the origins of social thinking in crime treatment, three

contributors develop divergent themes. Wiley B. Sanders, who has

made a special study of the subject, points out early beginnings of

the children's court movement in England; Frederick A. Moran

looks backward at the origins of parole; and Walter C. Reckless

discusses the democratic viewpoint in probation and parole work.

New Approaches in Treatment is a Yearbook section with four

ar-ticles. Dr. Ralph S. Banay outlines an institute of criminal science

"to lay the scientific foundations for more rational prevention and

treatment of antisocial behavior."

Mazie Rappaport describes an

experiment (which is no longer an experiment) in the special

hand-ling of prostitutes on probation; 0. H. Close gives a full account of

the setup of forestry camps for delinquents in California; and Dr.

Robert V. Seliger advises probation and parole officers in their

ap-proach to the problem of alcohol and the alcoholic.

In the District of Columbia a statistical experiment has been

re-cently concluded in the measurement of delinquency, agencies other

than the juvenile court being included. Edward E. Schwartz has

written up this study for the Yearbook. The relationship of the

judge of the juvenile court to the child who is appearing before him,

and the way parents and children are handled in the hearing are

described by Judge Gustav L. Schramm. Two papers covering

pro-bation in practice are concerned with techniques as well as

interpre-tation. Ethel M. Cherry writes of the probation officer on his job,

and Irving E. Cohen on probation as a social case work process.

Widening our horizon a little, David Dressler discusses the

mean-ing of the language which social workers, and particularly probation

and parole officers, use. Query: does our language conceal our ideas

or do we sometimes substitute language for ideas?

Sections of the Yearbook which are traditional conclude the

vol-ume. A legal digest of some fifty pages reflects the fact that never

in our history have legislatures given so much attention to the

whole subject of correction.-Probation,

February, 1946.

Washington State Legislature to Consider Juvenile Program-Out

of the widespread interest and concern of the people of Washington

with the problem of juvenile protection, a Legislative Interim

Com-mittee was created by the 1945 session of the Legislature to

CURRENT NOTES

tigate as fully as possible all problems relating to juvenile delin-quency," and to make "recommendations for legislation concerning the subject matter investigated." Following the lead of other states toward a coordinated program, the committee has now drafted for the consideration of the 1947 Legislature an act providing for the creation of a State Department of Youth Protection and Institu-tions to extend proper facilities for probation and detention care to all counties of the state. Under the provisions of the act, the Director will establish suitable administrative districts throughout the state, and the duties of the Department shall be: a. To make the necessary social investigations and to supervise all children placed on probation, conditionally released, or released under super-vision from state juvenile institutions. b. To be responsible for the supervision, management and control of all state training schools, camps, and detention facilities. c. To engage in activities for the prevention of delinquency.

Qualifications prescribed for juvenile probation and parole offi-cers must, under the act, meet the minimum standards set forth by the professional council of the National Probation Association. Responsibilities of the proposed Department include the provision of detention care for all children requiring such care, and the es-tablishment and maintenance of the necessary detention or receiv-ing home facilities for each juvenile court district; no children shall be kept in jail or lockup. Provision is made for the establishment and maintenance of forestry camps, or camps in cooperation with the State Department of Forestry for the care, training and treat-ment of children under the jurisdiction of the juvenile courts. The state is divided into six juvenile court districts, with juvenile court judges devoting their full time to this work. Of the greatest im-portance, the Director of the Department is empowered to require all law enforcement and other officers to make a full report to the Department in any case of a child contacted by each officer where the former is alleged to come within the provisions of the juvenile court act. (See Vol. XXXVI, No. 2, July-August 1945 issue of the

Journal, p. 107, regarding House Bill No. 462 passed at the 1945

session of the Legislature which establishes juvenile court juris-diction over any child taken into custody by a parole, peace, police or probation officer.) Copies of the full text of the proposed act may be obtained by addressing Senator Albert D. Rosellini, Chair-man of the Interim Committee for Investigation of Juvenile De-linquency, 1111 Smith Tower, Seattle, Washington.-The Editor.

Seafffe Selecfs A New Police Chief-On the basis of recommenda-tions contained in the Report of a Survey and Reorganization of the Seattle Police Department completed June 1, 1945, the citizens of that community voted into their city charter in March of this year a provision which can well mark the beginning of a new era in metropolitan police organization and administration. This signif-icant amendment provides for the selection of the Chief of Police

by national open competitive examination. An appointment to fill the position on this basis will be made July 1. Printed announce-ments and application forms concerning the forthcoming examina-tion have been distributed naexamina-tionally. There are four stages of the examination procedure: a. Auditing or screening of applications;

b. Written examinations; c. Oral examination and d. Confidential

The written examination is scheduled for Friday, May 31, 1946, and for the convenience of applicants in the several geographical areas of the nation, will be held simultaneously at the following locations: Institute of Government, University of Washington, Se-attle; Traffic Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston; De-partment of Legal Medicine, Harvard University, Cambridge; Bur-eau of Municipal Research, University of Texas, Austin; and De-partment of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley. The oral examination will be held in Seattle only, and is open only to those who qualify in the written examination. It is scheduled for June 24 to 29, and will be supplemented by a confidential investiga-tion of the character and professional record of candidates who survive the first three stages of the examination.

Qualifications required for admission to the examination include not less than ten years full time employment in public safety or law enforcement work within the last 15 years, of which a part must have been in an administrative capacity. The nature and ex-tent of the applicant's administrative experience are considered of the highest importance. In considering the length of time served in public safety and law enforcement organizations, time spent on leave of absence in the Armed Forces will be considered as con-tinuous service. Military experience, especially at command levels is regarded as an asset to a police executive and careful considera-tion will be given to the applicant's military service record. Edu-cation equivalent to that represented by completion of the twelfth grade or graduation from high school is required as a minimum. College level training in public administration, police science and administration, criminal law, psychology, sociology, economics or business administration, or a combination of these fields of study, may be substituted for not more than two years of the required experience. In evaluating experience, major consideration will be given to the quality, importance and breadth of experience rather than to years of experience. Applicants for the position must have reached their thirty-second birthday not later than May 15, 1946. Members of the Examining Board are: Charles F. Dullea, Chief of Police, San Francisco, California; Colonel Homer Garrison, Direc-tor, Texas State Department of Public Safety, Austin, Texas, and the Editor of this column. The Examining Board has been dele-gated exclusive power to organize and conduct the examinations, and to recommend to the Mayor of Seattle an eligible register of three qualified candidates. It is from these three that the Mayor will appoint a man to head one of the nation's major police organi-zations. The salary of the position has been advanced to a mini-mum of $7,500 per year. Applications are at this writing being invited from qualified applicants throughout the United States. Further information may be obtained from any member of the Examining Board, or from Mr. Kenneth B. Colman, Chairman of the Police Advisory Council, Colman Building, Seattle, Washington. Leaders in the American police field are following this procedure with interest and express the hope that the ultimate results will stimulate other cities to consider the merits of this method of select-ing the chief executive.--The Editor.

electroencepha-CURRENT NOTES

lographers from several different states met at the Graduate Club of the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut on Friday, March

1, 1946, to organize the Eastern Association of

Electroencepha-lographers. Formed for the purpose of promoting research in the field, the Association plans to pool scientific information concerning the neurophysiology and clinical application of

electroencephalogra-phy.

Lieutenant Commander Robert S. Schwab, MC, USN, of the United States Naval Hospital in Boston, was elected Chairman of the Association, and Dr. Charles W. Stephenson, of Hartford, was elected recorder. One of the immediate projects of the gioup is to approach the American Physiological Society, the American Neu-rological Society, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Council of Physical Medicine of the American Medical Association, on the matter of establishing a joint committee among the several organizations for the purpose of considering the desirability and means of establishing minimum standards for approved Electro-encephalographic Laboratories. Chairman of the committee ap-pointed to pursue this project is Dr. Hallowell Davis, Associate Professor of Physiology at Harvard; members are Dr. Paul A. Hoefer, Associate Professor of Neurology at Columbia University, and Dr. Margaret Kennard, Assistant Professor of Neuropsychia-try and Neuroanatomy at New York University. Dr. Wladimir T. Liberson, Director of the Physiological Research Laboratory at the Institute of Living, Hartford, and Professor at Ecole des Hautes Etudes in New York City, was appointed Chairman, and Dr. Leslie F. Nims, Assistant Professor of Physiology, Yale University, and Dr. Margaret B. Rheinberger, who is in charge of the Electro-encephalographic Laboratory at Montefiore Hospital in New York, were appointed members of the Organization and Program Com-mittee.-News release of the Institute of Living (Neuropsychiatric

Institute of the Hartford Retreat), 200 Retreat Avenue, Hartford, Conn.

Research and Teaching Fellowships in fhe Police Arts and Sciences-Extending yet further the boundaries of education for the police, the State College of Washington at Pullman, under the auspices of the Graduate School and the Department of Police Science and Ad-ministration, announces substantial awards in aid of graduate study and research in the police arts and sciences. Research and teach-ing fellowships are now available in the followteach-ing areas of police activity: Police organization, survey and reorganization, techniques of management, personnel recruiting procedure, pre-entry training curricula and method, police record systems, police statistical method, police communication systems, job analysis, patrol analysis, police tactics, criminal investigation and identification, instrumen-tal crime detection, police crime prevention - organization and method, traffic administration, public relations, in-service training

curricula and method, and translation projects.

accred-ited institution and must be a regularly appointed police officer in the public service at the time of filing application. At least three years of active police experience and the choice of police service as a life profession are regarded as essential requirements. Applica-tions should be addressed to the Head of the Department of Police Science and Administration at the State College of Washington, Pullman, Wash.-The Editor.

Psychiatric Care of Veterans-Solid backing of General Omar Bradley, Veterans' Administrator and Major General Paul R. Haw-ley, his surgeon-general, came officially from the American Psychiat-ric Association, representing all the psychiatrists in the country. General Bradley's policy of locating new veterans' hospitals as near as possible to the great and successful centers of medical care, on the basis of veterans' needs, instead of on the basis of political patronage, was specifically endorsed by the Association through its President, Dr. Karl M. Bowman, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, California. The Ameri-can Psychiatric Association asserted that the best medical and psy-chiatric care for the veterans could be provided by the policy as outlined by General Bradley and Major General Hawley, and de-manded that nothing be allowed to interfere with the execution of this plan to provide the best possible scientific care for the veteran. The official statement of the American Psychiatric Association called attention to the fact that the Veterans' Administration psy-chiatric facilities had in the past been located through references from chambers of commerce and through political pressure groups who lost sight of the fact that only near the great medical centers could the best veterans' care be developed. It was pointed out that as a result, there are numerous small veterans' hospitals in in-accessible places, to which suitable medical and nursing personnel cannot-be attached, and which are largely removed from the possi-bility of consultation with the most progressive medical

centers.-Release by The American Psychiatric Association, Committee on Public Education, Hartford, Conn.

National Conference On Delinquency--Chief Fred A. Roff, of Mor-ristown, N. J., president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Chief Walter F. Anderson, of Charlotte, N. C., sixth vice president of the Association, and Bruce Smith, advisor to the State

and Provincial Section, were in attendance at a meeting in Wash-ington, D. C., February 11 and 12, of the national volunteer ad-visory panel created to assist the Department of Justice in the for-mulation of plans to combat the growing problem of juvenile de-linquency. Attorney General Clark explained to the panel that the

Department of Justice intends only to spearhead the national drive against juvenile delinquency and does not want to infringe upon activities of local community groups which are struggling with the problem.-Police Chiefs News Letter, March, 1946.

NUTI to Conduct Refresher Course-The Northwestern University

CURRENT NOTES

by an additional grant from the Kemper Foundation for Traffic

Police Training. There will be no tuition charge. The two-week course will provide both refresher and advanced training for Insti-tute alumni.

Of special significance also is the establishment by the Traffic

Institute of an extension division to provide assistance to state and municipal police departments in which graduates of its course in traffic administration are serving. The new service will enable police executives who have sent personnel to NUTI to use training received there to the fullest extent in combating the steady increase in accidents and deaths. James A. Pryde, former chief of the Washington State Patrol and a member of the field staff of the Safety Division of the International Association of Chiefs of Police for the past 13 months, has been named director of the new exten-sion diviexten-sion.-Police Chiefs News Letter, March, 1946.

Harvard University Offers Police Science Course--On January 1, 1946, Harvard University with the cooperation of the Massachu-setts Institute of Technology, Boston University and the State De-partment of Public Safety, formally inaugurated a one year course in Police Laboratory Science. It will include instruction in analyti-cal chemistry, physianalyti-cal chemistry, organic chemistry, physianalyti-cal meth-ods of chemical analysis, chemical microscopy, microscopy of natural and technical products including textile fibers, hair, wood and foods, toxicology, serology and general police science. Entrance require-ments include mathematics through college algebra, general physics, elementary inorganic chemistry, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, elementary physical and organic chemistry.

Preference will be given to candidates who are sponsored by police organizations and who are thereby assured of an opportunity to make use of the training they will receive. Cost of tuition, books and supplies are approximately $800 for the year. Veterans should apply for educational subsidy under the G.I. Bill of Rights. Can-didates who meet the above entrance requirements and who desire to enroll should write to the Department of Legal Medicine, 25 Shat-tuck Street, Boston, Mass., for an application blank.

It has also come to our attention that the University of Houston, through its Division of Public Administration is offering a pro-gram of police training for students preparing for a career in the police field, in addition to in-service training courses for the Hous-ton Police Department and other police organizations in East Texas. The University's program is a further extension of facilities avail-able for pre-employment training and is evidence of the growing co-operation between colleges and police departments.-The Editor.

Compact Administrators Meet-State executives who have been re-sponsible for administration of interstate compacts for the super-vision of parolees and probationers met to organize their own association to further cooperation and improvement of procedures, at the Congress of Correction in New York last November. An